The Corinthian believers did not respect the Lord's table meeting. They did not respect the Body of the Lord, and they treated the Lord's supper loosely. What were the results of these things? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:29-30, "He who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not discern the body. Because of this many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep." The disciplining hand of God makes people sick and weak and even causes them to die. God treated them this way because they treated the Body of the Lord lightly. They did not see the Lord's death nor the work of Christ, and they did not see the Body of Christ. They did not see the respect they should render to the Lord Jesus, and they did not see their proper standing in the Body of Christ. This resulted in weakness, in sickness, and even in death. After they had sinned, God disciplined them.

Verse 32 says, "But being judged by the Lord, we are disciplined that we may not be condemned with the world." There is a purpose in God's discipline. It is to save us from condemnation in the future. God disciplines us so that we will not fall into the condemnation that the world will receive. In other words, discipline proves that we are saved. Discipline preserves our salvation. God's way and our way of doing things are totally different. We think that if we tell people that they are saved, they will be loose and unrestrained. God is not like this. He proclaims clearly, absolutely, and without limitation to all those who believe in Him that all who believe have eternal life and will not perish. But He has His way of saving us from sinning and keeping us from being wanton and loose Christians. His discipline is a substitute for our being condemned. Man may think that condemnation is the best method to keep us from sinning, but God does not use the way of condemnation. Rather, He uses the way of discipline. It is very clear that God separates the believers from the worldly people by discipline. The matters of discipline and salvation must be clearly differentiated. Discipline is exercised only for the present and has nothing to do with our eternal salvation.

There is a good example in 1 Corinthians to show that discipline for a Christian proves that he is saved. Even if a Christian has committed a very gross sin, he is still saved. First Corinthians 5 talks about a Christian who committed adultery. Such an act of adultery with one's stepmother was not even found among the unbelievers. Those who are clear about the law of Moses would say that this person will surely perish and is guaranteed to go to hell. But surprisingly, 1 Corinthians shows us clearly that here is one who had committed a very grave and despicable sin; it is a sin that is not committed by ordinary people. Paul says that with the power of the Lord Jesus, he delivered such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that is to allow Satan to exhibit his power on the body of this one to cause him to be weak, to be ill, and even to die. The purpose of Paul in doing this was that this one may be saved in the day of the Lord. Discipline is something for this life. It is absolutely not related to salvation in eternity. If it were up to us, we would say, "It is finished. Although such a one has been saved, surely he will perish again because of committing such a gross sin." However, Paul says that this one will not perish even though he has committed such a sin. A saved one can temporarily receive discipline, but he cannot be penalized with eternal perdition. This is the teaching of Paul. A Christian can have temporary discipline in this age, but he cannot perish eternally. We may need discipline, but we will still be saved in eternity. Paul made a clear distinction between these two things many times in the New Testament. The destruction mentioned here and the sleep mentioned before relate to the body only; they do not refer to the spirit. The matters of the spirit and of eternal salvation were decided already when we believed in the Lord.

Some people have a problem with 1 John 5:16, where it says that we should not make request for anyone who has committed a sin unto death. They have this problem because they do not understand the Word of God. They think that to sin unto death as spoken of here means perdition. Actually there is no such thing. First John 5:16 tells us of some people who sinned to the extent that God would have them die and their flesh removed from the world. The death mentioned in 1 Corinthians 11, the destruction in 1 Corinthians 5, and the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira are all deaths of the flesh and have nothing to do with the death of the spirit. Discipline is totally a matter with the body. Therefore, in the Bible, many places which seem to say that believers may perish are actually speaking about discipline.